Critical Mass in pro-Greta ride past U.N.
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
In honor of Greta Thunberg’s visit
to the United Nations on Fri., Aug.
30, more than 100 bicyclists passed
U.N. Headquarters during last Friday’s
Critical Mass ride.
“We wanted to show what real climate
change solutions look like,” said
Bill de Paola, director of Time’s Up, an
environmental organization that organizes
the Critical Mass rides.
The 16-year-old Swedish climate
change activist had arrived in New York
City by solar-powered boat two days earlier.
The teen embarked from the United
Kingdom and spent two weeks sailing
across the Atlantic Ocean to speak at
the U.N. Climate Action Summit scheduled
for later this month.
On Friday, Thunberg was joined by
hundreds of children and teens outside
of the U.N. in calling on politicians and
older generations to take immediate and
comprehensive action to reverse climate
change.
Fellow young New York City climate
change activists Alexandria Villaseñor,
14, and Xiye Bastida Patrick, 17, also
took part in the protest.
During the protest, the trio were given
an impromptu tour of the U.N. and
met with Maria Fernanda Espinosa, the
U.N. General Assembly president.
Critical Mass riders passing through Times Square on Aug. 30. More than 100 cyclists traveled from Union
Square to Washington Square Park, passing by U.N. Headquarters and through Times Square en route.
Hours later, the activist cyclists gathered
as usual at Union Square Park and
headed north. Critical Mass rides occur
in New York, and in more than 200 cities
around the world, every last Friday
of the month, to call for safer streets and
better bicycling infrastructure and to
help newer bicyclists feel more comfortable
riding in traffi c.
“When you ride together in a group,
you feel more confi dent and that helps
create more riders,” de Paola said.
And for Time’s Up, more riders mean
a greener city and greener world.
According to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 29 percent of the
PHOTO BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions
come from transportation. More specifi
cally, they come from the burning of
petroleum-based fuels to power trucks,
cars, ships and planes.
The 2019 Climate Action Summit is
scheduled to begin on Sept. 23.
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8 September 5 - September 18, 2019 MEX Schneps Media
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